BUDDHAHOOD

Buddha-hood is the attainment of all perfection, supreme enlightenment and complete freedom form all kinds of evils and malice leading one to Nirvana or an ultimate end or freedom from the wheel of existence. Anyone who can achieve such a state of affair may attain Buddha-hood and thus, become the Buddha.

BUDDHA GAUTAM

Born in Lumbini garden in 541 BC, Siddhartha Gautama was destined to become Lord Buddha eventually, was born to Maya Devi, consort of King Suddhodana of Kapilvastu. Kingship was a highly respectable position there, even though, monarchy was neither hereditary nor lifelong in that state as the monarch would be elected. Prince Siddhartha received all possible care and luxury from his father, King Suddhodana and his (Siddhartha’s) second mother Queen Gautami as Siddharth’s own mother. Queen Maya Devi had died after a few days of his birth. Wise, keen and compassionate, Prince Siddhartha could not be satisfied and happy by all the luxuries he had in the palace, nor by his  marriage with a beautiful and ideal wife Yasodhara and not even by the birth of his one and only beloved son Rahula. The mystery and bitter realities of life, its inevitable realities like all kinds of sufferings from illness, old age, death, separation and the like, haunted him day and night. He, therefore, quit his palace at the age of 29 with a view to find out true knowledge and the right path to alleviate sufferings for the sake of mankind as a whole. He learnt a lot about many facets of life from several well known teachers like Alar Kalam and Uddak and others, but none to his full satisfaction, So he went on to a rigorous meditation for six years in a forest which also could not be successful in imparting him perfect knowledge. Later he chose the middle path, a path lying between both extremities like those of extreme suffering and excessive luxury. Accordingly, he took one meal daily and meditated with great concentration and discipline under a pipal tree at Gaya in India where he finally attained enlightenment and became The Buddha.  Since then, he preached for 45 years covering every aspect of Buddhism. At the age of 80, he attained Nirvana, the ultimate end of life without having to take any rebirths any more. See Tri-ratna and Buddhism.

BUDDHA AMOGHSIDDHI

The Green coloured embodiment of dauntlessness Buddha, Amoghsuddhi is one of the Pancha Buddhas or the Five Buddhas. His position is in the north. Harpies are his vehicle and his consort is Green Tara. Amoghsiddi is the fifth Dhyani Buddha in order. His left hand lies open on the lap and the right exhibits the Abhaya mudra or the position assuring fearlessness. He represents the cosmic element of Samskar or Conformation. He is of green colour and  his recognition symbol is the Biswa vajra or the double thunderbolt. He always faces the North. He is the embodiment of the rainy season. Sometimes, a serpent with seven heads forms the background as an umbrella. In front of his shrines, therefore, is found a small square pit which is meant for the snake. His vehicle is Garuda, the fastest divine bird.

BUDDHA AMITABHA

Buddha Amitabha, one of the Pancha Buddhas or Five Buddhas, is positioned at the west and is of red colour. He is the embodiment of incessant light. His symbol is the lotus and his vehicle is the peacock. His spiritual son is Avalokiteswar. Amitabha is the most ancient Buddhas among the Dhyani Buddhas. He is believed to reside in the Sukhabati Bhuvan or the heaven of happiness. He is of red colour originating from the red syllable HRIH. He represents cosmic element of Sangya meaning name or nomenclature. His vehicle is peacock. He exhibits Samadhi Mudra with his two palms folded face up and one on top of the other lying on his lap. His sign is the lotus. When represented on the stupa, he always faces West. Soemtimes holding a Patra on the same posture, his escort is Pandara, Amitabha denotes boundless light or the incomprehensible.

BUDDHA AKSYOBHTA

Buddha Aksyobhya is the embodiment of supreme power and strength and thus, his symbol is the thunderbolt. One of the Pancha Buddhas (Five Buddhas), his position is in the east. His vehicle is the elephant and Vajrapani is his spiritual son. Buddha Aksyobhya is blue in colour and is known for his steadfastness. His consort is Lochana. He is regarded as the second Dhyani Buddha by the Nepalese Buddhists. Akshobhaya originates from the  blue. He exhibits the Bhusparsa or touching-the-earth pose or mudra which means calling the earth for witness, and sits in the Vajraparyanka pose. He represents the primordial cosmic element of Vigyan meaning science or consciousness. When represented in the Stupa, he always faces the east. His left hand rests on the lap, while the right rest on the right knee with the tip of the middle fingers touching the ground with palm drawn inwardly.

BUDDHA

The popularly known Buddha is Siddharth Gautam Buddha who is known to have  propounded modern Buddhism. See Buddha Gautam.  But, in Buddhist pantheon, there are mention of many Buddhas under various schools of Buddhism. The  following series of Buddhas are worth mentioning for general  understanding of the theory of Buddhahood: Adibuddha or the original Buddha; Dhyani Buddhas or the meditating Buddhas; and, Manushi Buddhas or The Mortal Buddhas
Adibuddha or Swayambhu or Vajradhara or Samantha Bhadra is the abstract concept of the Ultimate Reality, which, the Vajrayana school of Buddhism equates with Void or Nothingness or Shunyata. This is to imply that this is a state of being of perfect spirituality, totally free from any existential or phenomenal bonds. The Dhyani Buddhas emanated from Adi Buddha. The five Dhyani Buddhas or the Pancha Buddha with five different colours, aspects, roles and characteristics are the important names of the dhyani Buddhas. There are some other Dhyani Buddhas as well in the Buddhist pantheon such as Buddha Bipaswi, Buddha Kanakmuni, Buddha Krakuchhanda etc. Dhyani Buddhas are always shown seated in the posture of meditation known as Dhyanasana or Bajrasana or the lotus posture known as Padmasana.
Siddharth Gautam Buddha is the Manushi Buddha or the mortal Buddha. There are all possibilities for all beings to be a Buddha by practicing the thoughts and practices of the eight-fold path shown by the Buddha.

BRIHASPATI

Priest and protector of the divine community, Brihaspati is the deity of learning and wisdom. He is gold-coloured and shining. Drawn by eight pale horses, his car is called Niti-Ghosha. As he is known as the regent of the planet Jupiter, the planet itself is named as Brihaspati. He has a very important role to play in guiding and protecting the Gods during their battle with the demons and many other occasions.

BRAMHIN

Bramhins are of the priestly caste and, according to the doctrines of Hindu caste system, they originated from the head of Bramha, the creator. See Caste

BRAMHANA

All vedas have mainly two sections, mantra and Bramhana. Bramhana portion is philosophical and guiding. Composed by Bramhins, the highest of the four castes, Bramhana is the collective term used for different volumes of Bramhanas in vedas and upanishads which are of the same nature, and, unlike Mantras, they are mostly written in prose. In them are found “the oldest rituals we have, the oldest linguistic explanations, the oldest traditional narratives, and the oldest philosophical speculations”. The word Bramhana is use for denoting Bramhins as well. See Bramhin.

BRAMHAH

As described in upanishads, Bramhah is the ultimate reality of existence and the source of all creations. Even the Trinity- Bramha, Vishnu and Maheswar originated from Bramhah. The ultimate aim of all creations is to ultimately get reunited with Bramhah.